Aitana Bonmati revealed Spain had spotted Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger’s tendency to step away from her near post after scoring from the tightest of angles to send the world champions into the Euro 2025 final.

The two-time Ballon d’Or winner broke the deadlock in the 113th minute of the semi-final when she squeezed a shot from close to the byline past the Germany goalkeeper, as Spain set up a World Cup final rematch with European champions England on Sunday.

Barcelona midfielder Bonmati confirmed after the match that she intended to shoot after Spain had studied Berger’s positioning and found she often left the near post uncovered in anticipation of a cross or a pull-back.

Berger had signalled to her defenders with her right arm, pointing towards the space in the penalty box, just as Bonmati unleashed a fierce strike of power and accuracy to find the narrow gap Berger had left behind.

Some real experts and mind readers on here.

Spain look a bit short in the 90 mins betting to me. I wasn't too impressed with them against Germany. Maybe Germany were good. They certainly were in a physical sense. Better than England in that regard ?

First time i've seen Spain malay. Didn't look too clever in the final third but I would guess that's the same with all women's teams.  On my limited evidence I would say England are as good up top it's just a matter of how many they let in. But I don't quite see Spain so hot 90 mins the outright anyone that is confident about them probably better going outright.

I think there will not be a penalty period. I think Spain will win by a 2 goal margin. Spain at 1.85 (90mins) is a goer for me.

i agree its not the point. comparisons are futile but the fact is they are made and are the basis for most complaints against the womens game.

Not every school team, but most.

Woman's football has thrived without top athletes
because the top athletes got lottery funding to do athletics.

Woman's football wasn't popular even 10 years ago so the top
athletes are yet to hit the lionesses squad.. Assuming some will.

15 year old boys are as strong and fast as adult women so little
wonder they out compete women's national squads.

Dina asher Smith earns 5 or 6 times what top paid lioness can get
so footy still has a way to go but surge of popularity will
see more lasses give the game a go.

My sisters never played footy, the missus never played footy, all
would have loved to have done, but wasn't really an option.

When I went to school in France the lasses were better than
the lads,.... Beat them easily, funny old world.

UK Plc rarely wins at sporting events. The men's football team were pants - won nothing - despite having the best team and players in Europe at one time. However, the women's team have done; their never-say-die attitude and spirit have shone through in the last couple of games. They won even though it was pretty, but they won unlike the men's - a bunch of **** that regularly capitulated without raising a mighty defence.

he got it because he was a nice and cosy yes man bluemax.

The differences between men and women when it comes to sports has been laid bare in Athletics, men run faster, jump higher, throw further and exert a greater level of force, the times and distances recorded in this sport demonstrate it perfectly. The fastest 100m ever recorded by a women was 10.49 (and that’s questionable), yet at least 5000  men have run faster, quickest women's Marathon time is 2:09:56 (and she’s just been banned for drugs), yet nearly 4700 men have run it quicker, highest women’s Pole Vault is 5:06, at least 5000 men have Pole Vaulted higher. When you put all of these physical characteristics, components and limitations together on a football pitch such as velocity, bodily aerodynamics and power exertion , then of course women’s sport is a completely different sport to men’s sport, they’ve been saying this in Tennis for decades and WTA Tennis has been Professional since the Open era began in the lat 1960’, the Pro female players, commentators and journalists have always acknowledged this. Even Sabalenka the World number 1 just recently said men’s tennis is just different level, Serena acknowledged at her best in an interview she wouldn’t be top 1000 in the ATP This is why you cannot compare women’s sports to mens and why it should not be looked at in the same way, but why the simple minded will contrast, compare and then mock, because they’re dumb.

Even in another 20 years when women’s sports stars become far more athletic and powerful, as they have done in tennis, it’s still not going to be comparable to the men’s game, the standard will be higher, but optically it’s still always going to be worse for women’s footballers than tennis players because you could fit 6-7 tennis courts on to a football pitch, meaning on a tennis court because of the smaller size, the differences in power and movement are far less noticeable to the naked eye, on open wide spaces such as a football pitch, the levels of intensity, the sudden movements and power output when hitting a ball from distance are much more obvious in comparison the men’s game that most people have been watching for decades. It’s part of the reason why the growth of women’s football has a ceiling, that and along with the fact sport is a saturated market and women’s football is too far behind the curve to catch up to that level, one off big events like the World Cup will attract huge audiences, but you’re not going to see regularly packed out 60,000 stadia for run-of-the-mill league matches any time soon.

Kind Regards.

You may be right mes. but for me the big selling point of Women’s football is that families can attend, together, in numbers,  in perfect peace.  Not a hooli in sight.  The quality on the pitch is almost irrelevant.

Mud and oil wrestling

It's never going to be as much of a draw as the men's, same with all sports.
Comparing what men are capable of individually v women is ridiculous. Women don't play against men and it's all relative to your opponent.
You can fit 6-7 tennis courts on a football pitch but there are 10 times the outfield players.

The point is that people consistently mock women's football and sport, largely because they are comparing it to the men's whether they know they are or not, they've been watching men's football for example for decades, then they see women's football, and it's a massive drop down in intensity, agility and power, instead of recognising this and taking women's sport for what it is, they contrast and compare and then laugh at it. When a ball is it hit in tennis at 140mph compared to 120mph you can't tell the difference, when a man runs a distance greater than the length of a couple of tennis courts on a football pitch, the difference in speed is much more noticeable in comparison to a women doing the same thing as a basic example, then there's free kicks and crosses, big drop down in power exertion which optically on TV looks very weak when compared to men's football, then there's the Goals and the pitches, the size of them were designed by men, for men, and they look far too big for women. The passing and moving in the Spain v Germany game was quite good, there were not any slapstick type moments or comedy or errors whatsoever, they are technical adequate and well coached, yet it was described on this thread as Sunday league, which is stupid, because it clearly wasn't and could have been meant as Sunday League if someone was unconsciously comparing it to the ability's of the Pro Men's game. Kind Regards.

True

Women tennis stars are as popular as men and can earn big money.

Football is big on the USA where the women I think earn more than the men or did until they brought in equality!

There'll be loads more going to WSL games next season due to the quality of the play.

On a totally unrelated note:

24 July 2025
Seven Women's Super League clubs have joined a trial that will allow supporters to drink alcohol in the stands during the 2025-26 season.

Last season's top four - champions Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United - are among the clubs who will take part.

It follows an initial trial last term at four clubs in the second tier - rebranded as WSL2 this season - that offered fans the opportunity to consume alcohol while watching the match.

League operator WSL Football said the trial was a success, with 66% of the 51,000 spectators that took part supporting the idea.

Ally Ross has written an amusing and perceptive piece on the BBC/ITV coverage of this tournament



https://archive.ph/9GwnU

Does anyone actually read tabloids anymore? their circulation sunk so low they stopped printing how many copies they sold compared to everyone else a long while ago, mass media and social media have seen them and their influence off

loser i thh  end

She died a bit tonight.